Harvest Home

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On Galactica, Troy and Dillon are in the children’s quarters with several of Galactican kids. They play a game of hide and seek in which Wellington turns invisible and hides from the rest.

At that moment, Cylon ships (referred to throughout the script as Cylon vipers) close in on Galactica. Troy and Dillon launch with the other warriors and intercept the Cylons which don’t fight back. The Colonials destroy all the Cylon ships except for one which launches a kamikaze attack on the agro-ship, crashing into it and destroying it.

The fleet only has limited food reserves. Troy and Dillon go on a mission to establish a food development system on Earth. Doctor Zee tells Adama it was likely no accident that the Cylons found the fleet, but he’s not sure how.

Troy and Dillon land on earth and visit a farm where they mistake a scarecrow for a person. Then they are greeted by Ray Markharm, a farmer in his mid-forties. Troy and Dillon say they work for the government and want to grow food on his property. Ray invited them to have dinner with him and his wife Louise, daughter Kate, and son Chris. During the meal, Ray says nothing can grow on his land because there is no water due to a dam put up by John Steadman, a wealthy landowner who wants to buy his farm.

They visit the dam on Steadman’s land. Soon, Steadman drives up in his Mercedes and narrowly misses hitting them. Troy and Dillon tell Steadman that they are from a special government agency.

On Galactica, Dr. Zee has determined that the fleet has only ten days of food left. Adama says Troy and Dillon can grow the food they need in just two days due to the botanic stimulant that Zee prepared. Dr. Zee is unsure if the fleet’s new flight pattern will enable them to evade the Cylons.

Back on Earth, Troy, Dillon and Ray buy seed and drive off with it in their pick-up truck. Maze and Barrett follow them in their own truck.

A squadron of Cylon vipers flies in pursuit of the fleet. Inside one of the ships, we see a Cylon looking at a series of mathematical equations on the monitor. The Cylon announces that they have detected beta emissions and will now adjust their flight trajectory as a result.

Maze and Barrett drive alongside Ray’s pick-up. Maze leaps onto the back of the truck, rips open the bags, and pours all the seed onto the road. He leaps back onto his own truck before anyone can stop him. Troy and Dillon decide to visit Steadman’s ranch and demand payment for the lost seed.

The Cylon vipers have found Galactica. Colonel Boomer orders the Colonial vipers to launch and defend the ship.

Troy and Dillon enter Steadman’s ranch. Maze and Barrett confront them, but before they can attack, Troy and Dillon activate their invisibility fields. Maze gets kicked from behind. He thinks Barrett did it and the two get into a shoving match. Troy and Dillon reappear in front of Steadman’s door. Troy knocks on it, and Steadman answers.

Doctor Zee tells Adama that he has examined a Cylon viper that was captured during the battle, and it was equipped with an unusual type of radar tracking equipment which led the Cylons to the fleet. Their equipment monitors the minute quantities of ionic radiation that the metallic hulls of the fleet’s ships give off. Once the radar locates the emissions, the Cylons can lock on course until they find it. Adama realizes this means that the Cylons can find them anywhere.

Steadman agrees to pay for the lost seed and offers Troy and Dillon a chance to win $1000 and a horse named Satan. All they have to do is to ride Satan who is wild and out of control. Troy and Dillon approach the horse. Dillon secretly uses his laser gun to stun the horse which calms him down. He is then able to easily ride him. Steadman can’t believe what he is seeing.

Dr. Zee tells Adama that he may have a solution to the current Cylon threat. He suggests de-ionizing the exterior hulls of every ship in the fleet, but he is unsure if it will work. Adama worries because they will have to send a ship to Earth soon to assist Troy and Dillon. Once it leaves the fleet, it will be vulnerable to attack by the Cylons.

Dillon and Troy arrive at the Markham farm with new seed as well as a horse. Dillon presents the horse to Kate. They start to unload the seed. Kate asks Dillon if he is married and tells him that she thinks he’s cute.

After making some phone calls, Steadman learns that Troy and Dillon don’t work for the government. He is determined to find out who exactly they are.

On Galactica, the medical ship from “Super Scouts” is being prepared for launch. Dr. Zee says the ship will create a mist that will result in precipitation that the crops will need to grow. Adama says there is a report of a Cylon squadron moving through the neighboring quadrant on the projected path that the medical ship will take.

Troy and Dillon fly their turbo cycles. Troy hits the field with laser beams in order to dig troughs. Behind him, Dillon follows, but lower to the ground, dropping handfuls of seed over the dirt.

The medical ship is now traveling through space. On the bridge, Dr. Zee tells Adama that their long range scanners have detected Cylons who will in minutes be in range of the fleet. Shortly after, the Cylons fail to detect it, so the de-ionization of the ships of the fleet has been effective. However, Doctor Zee points out that the shuttle Troy and Dillon will use to carry the crops back to the fleet has not gone through the de-ionization process, so it will be vulnerable to Cylon attack.

Troy and Dillon finish and then stand in the field. They shoot their lasers into the sky to send a signal to the approaching medical ship. At that moment, Steadman pulls up in his truck. Using binoculars, he is stunned to see Troy and Dillon firing their lasers. He then sees the medical ship coming down out of the sky. The ship releases silver iodide particles into the atmosphere. Clouds start to form, and then a heavy rainfall begins.

On the front porch of the Markham house, Chris watches everything with awe. Then the ship ascends and disappears into the darkness. Steadman drives off.

At an air force radar station, radar technicians pick up something on their screens. Colonel Briggs gets a phone call and is told about what has been found. He orders a plane to be ready in twenty minutes.

The rain continues to fall on Markharm’s field, and the seeds begin to grow rapidly, quickly developing into small plants. Four months of growth occur literally overnight. An air force jet containing Colonel Briggs takes off and heads towards the Markham’s farm.

The next morning, the skies have begun to clear. Chris walks onto the front porch and looks at the fields. He then runs toward them. In his office, Steadman is in a state of shock. He refuses to tell Maze and Barrett what he saw the previous night.

Chris is stunned by the sight of the fields filled with young plants and big vegetables. He picks up an enormous squash and heads back for the house. Ray walks out of the house and is stunned to see him holding the squash. Troy and Dillon walk over and say that they should have a talk.

Colonel Briggs’ jet lands on the runway of a nearby air force base. Briggs exits the jet and enters an awaiting car which then speeds off.

During a meal in the dining room, Troy explains that they used a new government process that is part of a top secret government project. The Markhams are not to tell anyone about it, regardless of who asks. Chris winks at Troy, knowing that there is more to this than what is being said.

Later, the last of the crops have been harvested and taken out. Troy and Dillon return Ray’s truck. Kate asks Dillon if he will ever return. He says he doesn’t believe so, but he will stop by if he does. Kate smiles through some tears, then hugs Dillon and runs into the house.

Steadman then arrives and warns them that Colonel Briggs is on his way there. Troy and Dillon say their good-byes and walk off. Steadman tells Ray that he has decided to remove the dam that has prevented water from reaching the Markharm farm. Ray asks why, and Steadman replies that he has seen the light.

Troy and Dillon, riding their turbo cycles, pass the car containing Colonel Briggs. They then fly off into the sky. Briggs arrives at the Markharm farm and asks them if they’ve seen any strange phenomenon, but both Ray and Steadman say they’ve seen nothing.

Troy flies a viper while Dillon pilots the shuttle containing the crops. They receive a transmission from Adama and Dr. Zee warning them of the Cylon threat. Soon afterwards, Troy picks up approaching Cylons on his scanner. The Galactica launches a viper squadron to come to their aid. Troy manages to hold the Cylons off until the squadron arrives, and the Cylons are quickly destroyed.

Later, a Thanksgiving-style feast is held on Galactica. At the dinner table, Troy and Dillon tell Adama that after their ordeal they just don’t have much of an appetite. Dillon suggests that they could perhaps have “cold leftovers” later, leaving Adama confused. Troy and Dillon look at each other and laugh.

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Notes

• "Harvest Home" is an early version of "Space Croppers."
• The writer of this script is not credited, although it is presumably by Robert L. McCullough.
• In some Galactica 1980 episode guides, "Space Croppers" is erroneously called "Harvest Home".
• The Cylon ships are called Cylon vipers.

Changes from Script to Screen

Added in Final Version

• The introduction of D Squadron and related elements.
• The Imperious Leader and its declaration of an attack against the Fleet's agroships.
• The inclusion of the Super Scouts and Jamie Hamilton with the events at the farm.
• The elements of the Growers Association.

Excised from Final Version

• A "hide and seek" training session with the Super Scouts aboard Galactica, so they may properly use the invisibility field.
• The B-story regarding the Cylon's ability to locate the Fleet via "electro-magnetic beta emissions," which Zee is able to discover after capturing a Cylon viper (sic) and neutralize via deionization of the hull of each Fleet ship.
• Troy and Dillon present themselves as being part of a government agency, which Steadman is able to pierce thanks to his various government contacts.
• The appearance of the anti-gravity ship prompting the attention of Colonel Briggs. Steadman, having a change of heart after what he witnessed with the anti-gravity ship, warns Troy and Dillon of Briggs' imminent arrival. Briggs later arrives after the Galacticans have left, with those he questions feigning ignorance.
• Troy pilots a Viper escorting Dillon's shuttle, which contains needed foodstuffs for the Galactican Fleet. As their hulls have not undergone the deionization procedure, they are detected by Cylons and subsequently find themselves embroiled in battle. A squadron of Vipers comes to assist Troy and Dillon, safely escorting them back to the Fleet.

Notable Revisions

• The Markham family becomes the Alonzos, thus introducing the element of racism against Hispanics by Steadman and his cronies. The first names remain the same with two exceptions:
  • Ray Markham becomes Hector Alonzo.
  • Kate Markham becomes Gloria Alonzo.
• The Super Scout Moonbeam is likely Moonstone.
• Dillon uses a laser pistol on stun to make Satan, the black horse, docile.
• The Super Scouts are absent from the farm, as is Jamie Hamilton. Troy tills the land with laser volleys from his turbocycle, while Dillon disperses the enhanced seedlings from his own turbocycle.
• Steadman, having a change of heart after witnessing the "miracles" from the anti-gravity ship, reconciles with the Markhams. He also removes the dam blocking the natural water source. This is in stark contrast to the final episode where Steadman is laughed out of town after trying to relate the events of witnessing the anti-gravity ship and the Galactican planting session during the night.

Galactica 1980 definition: a member of the Fleet; Hamilton first uses the term when replying to Stockwell's question regarding Xavier's affiliation ^{(1980: "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II")}

Original Series definition: agriculture ^{(TOS: "The Magnificent Warriors")}

Galactica 1980 definition: When John Steadman asks if the Warriors know anything about these creatures, Dillon looks this up ^{(1980: "Space Croppers")}

Galactica 1980 definition: Troy attempts to use a phone booth near a gas station prior to their first run-in with Jamie Hamilton ^{(1980: "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I")}.

Original Series definition: region of space, see also Sector. Usually named after a Greek letter, or (less frequently) a star system or planet.

Original Series definition: Warrior slang for their Viper's high-velocity booster engines, e.g. "hit your turbos"

Original Series definition: interchangeable term for a computer monitor and television set (see: scanner)